A few years ago, I offered to cook Christmas lunch for my British family.  The turkey and all the trimmings was set to be the main course. This allowed for the Entente Cordiale to be maintained with the help of Delia Smith's recipe.

I found that recipe online, as most people do these days, planned the whole process to the Nth degree. I'm such a control freak that I even had a project plan prepared, listing order with precise dates and times what need to be done in the two or three days leading up to Christmas lunch. Some will call it over-kill, others will probably question my sanity (it's ok I've made my peace with it), but it made the whole process a completely stress-free operation! Now, how many can honestly claim not to have been stressed out the first time they prepared Christmas lunch??

Desert begged for a French touch. I therefore decided (a month ahead) to try and make a buche de Noel. That's Christmas log to the rest of the world. These deserts vary a lot on form, depending on your taste and the region buy them.  Ice, mousse, creme patisserie, vanilla, chocolate, fruit... Each year, everyone from your local patissier to the greatest chefs try and reinvent this classic.

The choice was easy for me: it had to be chocolate... but with a little something to give it a twist. Associating chocolate with orange is a much-appreciated combination which was sure to deliver a rich and sophisticated taste. I then looked up ideas of to present the masterpiece and found that macaroons would be a good way of decorating it.

I found great macaroon recipes on Pure Gourmandise. It's all in French, but I'm sure the translation tool on Google Chrome will do a decent job for you ;)

An orange zest sponge rolled with a rich chocolate ganache, orange and chocolate macaroons and voila! A typical Frenchie creation: doesn't look that great despite clear dedication to the cause, but tasted pretty awesome!

The cake and the macaroons were a success and French / England relations were kept safe!